Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 185 - 183: Love Rival Radar

The door closed, and Barrister Holloway looked at Simon Forrester, asking in less fluent Mandarin, "My Mandarin is not good, can we communicate in English?"

"Sure."

Barrister Holloway paused, his expression unchanged: "What is your relationship with Sienna now?"

Simon Forrester: "We are dating with marriage in mind."

Hearing this, Barrister Holloway showed a slight look of surprise, staring at Simon Forrester for a while before saying politely, "Mr. Forrester is the gold medalist of the OAP (a certain world architecture award) three years ago, the chief designer of the DB cruise terminal park?"

Simon Forrester smiled lightly: "Yes."

Barrister Holloway still looked at him sharply, seemingly recalling something but ultimately saying nothing, only adding: "Sienna is a good girl, I hope you can treat her well."

"I will," Simon Forrester said. "Thank you for nurturing and caring for her. She often mentions you, saying you are the person she is most grateful to in her life."

In fact, Sienna Thornton had never said these things to him; he just said it out of courtesy, but he thought that Sienna probably thought so in her heart.

And hearing these words, Barrister Holloway finally eased the severity on his face, showing a slight smile.

Strong women often hesitate to express emotions. At first, they might be worried that exposing their emotions would give their opponents an opportunity, so they often wrap themselves in an impenetrable armor, pretending to be invulnerable. And this protective layer, worn for a long time, eventually becomes one with themselves.

On the way back, Sienna Thornton was feeling a bit down.

Simon Forrester held her: "Do you want to know what your mentor said to me just now?"

Sienna Thornton sniffed, "What?"

"She said you’re a good girl, smart and ambitious, hoping we stay well, and when we eventually get married, remember to send her an invitation, inviting her to our wedding."

When he first started speaking, Sienna Thornton still believed him, but as he talked about marriage, Sienna already showed a disdainful face.

Seeing that she didn’t respond, Simon Forrester looked down at her and received a side-eye from her.

"I’d be really surprised if I believed you! My mentor is single for life because she thinks men and marriage are unreliable! How could she possibly hope for us to get married and send her an invitation? I guess she fears receiving wedding invitations from her female students the most."

Simon Forrester: "..."

He seemed to understand why Sienna insisted on identifying as a non-marriage proponent.

He could even imagine, during the year and more Sienna spent with Barrister Holloway, how Barrister Holloway might have brainwashed her...

*

Later, Sienna Thornton and Simon Forrester returned to the hotel to change into formal attire.

They were hosting a dinner tonight for some of Sienna’s university classmates at a restaurant booked earlier by Simon Forrester, offering a panoramic view of Victoria Harbour from a long table by the window.

Around seven, Sienna’s university classmates from Azure Harbor gradually arrived, most of them lawyers working in various Central District law firms, both male and female.

As soon as Sienna saw them, she happily stepped forward to hug them and exchanged pleasantries, also introducing Simon Forrester to them.

A table for twelve, and by seven-thirty, one seat was still empty.

Simon Forrester glanced at the time and softly asked Sienna, "Are most people here? Should we notify to serve the dishes?"

Sienna looked around at her classmates, and before she could speak, a female classmate said with a smile, "I heard Daniel’s flight arrived in Azure Harbor this evening, probably went home to change, caught in traffic, let’s wait a bit."

Sienna smiled faintly: "Okay."

The group then started talking about this Daniel, with Sienna engaging in the conversation now and then.

They spoke in Cantonese, but Simon Forrester could roughly understand by listening carefully.

This Daniel was currently in New York and, like Sienna, was a law PhD. He had specially returned today to attend the small reunion organized by Sienna.

Simon Forrester’s love rival radar quickly activated.

After a while, this Mr. Daniel arrived late.

He had fair skin, wasn’t very tall, had a medium build, wore a dark formal three-piece suit, all smiles as he approached Sienna for a cheek kiss.

Simon Forrester calmly extended his hand for a handshake: "Hello, I’m Simon Forrester."

"Hello, I’m Daniel Tung."

The greeting between men was straightforward and firm.

With the rival radar on, Simon Forrester naturally paid more attention to this Daniel.

During the meal, everyone was chatting naturally about their current work, the legal environment in Azure Harbor, the world economic environment, and occasionally reminiscing about fun times studying at HKU.

Daniel sat diagonally opposite Sienna, directly across from Simon Forrester.

Simon Forrester observed him without drawing attention, noticing that Daniel’s gaze would often follow Sienna, occasionally meeting his own eyes with a look of curiosity, only to quickly look away.

From the way Daniel looked at Sienna, Simon Forrester clearly saw a lingering affection.

*

After a while, out of nowhere, a female classmate started things off, and a group of girls began discussing their boyfriends, ambiguous relationships, and even friends with benefits.

Some of the male classmates took the opportunity to escape to the restroom. Simon Forrester originally planned to stay with Sienna, but hearing the topics the women discussed made him feel embarrassed as well, so he kissed Sienna on the cheek and got up to head outside, intending to smoke a cigarette before coming back.

The restaurant had a smoking area outside, a leisure area similar to an open-air bar, where men and women either sat or stood, smoking and drinking.

Although Simon Forrester smoked, he particularly disliked the smell of smoke, so he chose a secluded corner where no one was, with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cigarette, leaning against a uniquely designed raw wood wall, watching the Victoria Harbour night view while pondering the look Daniel gave Sienna earlier.

Suddenly, a few familiar male voices came through, mentioning the name "Daniel."

Simon Forrester glanced over and saw it was some of Sienna’s male classmates who also came out for a smoke.

They sat at the bar behind Simon Forrester, but because his body was blocked by the raw wood wall design, they didn’t notice he was there too.

They were speaking in Cantonese—

"I really didn’t expect Daniel to come all the way from New York just to see Sienna."

"Coming from New York is nothing. When we just graduated, he flew to the mainland every week!"

"To the mainland?"

"I heard he went to Braden University to see Sienna."

"Judging by how he looked tonight, he probably still likes her; I haven’t heard of him having a girlfriend all these years..."

"But doesn’t Sienna have a boyfriend now? They might be getting married? Both wearing rings on their left ring fingers..."

"That guy seems to be quite a famous architect, his qualifications not inferior to Daniel..."

"Is architecture a high-paying job? Daniel’s father is a real estate magnate..."

The voices gradually lowered.

Simon Forrester frowned, taking a deep drag from his cigarette, then after a moment, stubbed it out in the ashtray, straightened up, adjusted his suit, and walked back toward the restaurant.

The male classmates who were just gossiping at the bar had already disappeared, possibly back to the restaurant.

Simon Forrester went to the restroom to wash his hands and, on his way back, saw from afar Daniel sitting beside Sienna, leaning in and talking to her with their heads close together, laughing and chatting.